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Business Builder Workshop November 6: How Your Business Can Take Advantage of the 2024 Solar Eclipse

The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce has organized a special opportunity for local businesspeople to learn all about the total solar eclipse coming up April 8, 2024 and what it means for your local business. With an estimated 100,000 extra people expected to visit Chautauqua County for the eclipse next spring, the Business Builder Workshop is aimed at giving you the information you’ll need to promote your business and to gear up for the day. Our speakers will be Tom Traub, Chair of the Martz-Kohl Observatory Solar Eclipse Committee and NASA Eclipse Ambassador member; Noel ...

Moving the Flywheel

2023 has been a great year for the Chamber of Commerce. Through the hard work of our team, guidance of our Board, and support from volunteers, members, and partners like you, we can feel the momentum building. These successes are not circumstantial, in addition to all our regular programs and services, we’ve adopted and have begun to implement a strategic plan to refocus and guide our work over the next few years and beyond. The first item we tackled was related to the direction identified in our plan as “Clarify who we (the chamber) are and what we do.” We started this work by ...

It takes a whole community to honor our own

The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce puts together a broad variety of events throughout the year each designed for different purposes. While they are all opportunities to bring businesspeople together, one stands out as a true celebration of community. The Chamber’s Annual Awards Banquet was held Thursday night at the Williams Center at SUNY Fredonia with 200 people in the room. The Annual Awards Banquet is always heartwarming as we spend an evening paying tribute to many individuals and organizations that help to make Chautauqua County a great place to live, play, and do ...

New York Concealed Carry Improvement Act’s background check for ammunition is hurting local business

New York’s rollout of background checks to buy firearm ammunition is creating issues for sellers and buyers alike. The state’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act took effect in early September and includes a background check prior to the purchase of ammunition as well as a $9 fee for a background check to buy a firearm and a $2.50 fee for a background check for ammunition. The mandate effectively circumvent the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco and Firearms and the national background check the ATF is supposed to undertake, and instead places the background checks to be conducted in ...

Chautauqua County showcases Field to Manufacturing initiative

More than three dozen local officials and representatives from various local agencies participated in a Chautauqua County “Field to Manufacturing” tour. The tour involved three separate businesses – Yerico Farms in Sheridan, the Original Crunch Roll Factory in Westfield, and Steelbound ...

Shop local remains the Chamber’s mantra

There’s no question that the pandemic was a game-changer for small businesses. But if it sparked one good thing, it was an obvious desire to support locally owned businesses – from restaurants to retail to service providers. Throughout Chautauqua County we have witnessed dozens of new businesses opening in the past three years as more people determined they would live their dream of being their own boss and opening their own business. At the same time, the Chamber has witnessed a dramatic growth in the number of businesses accepting our ShopLocalCHQ Gift Card. Our merchant list ...